来源：英文联播
Li Ka-shing， Hong Kong’s Richest Man， Will Retire， Ending an Era
HONG KONG — Li Ka-shing， a high school dropout who got his start selling plastic flowers， will retire from the empire that made him Hong Kong’s richest man， he said ， bringing a symbolic end to an era when the road to China’s riches went through the onetime British colony。
靠卖塑料花起家的高中辍学生李嘉诚表示，自己将从让他成为香港首富的商业帝国退休，这标志着通过曾经的英国殖民地成为中国富人时代的结束。
Mr。 Li， 89， who some called Superman for his business acumen， grew his plastic manufacturing business into a sprawling conglomerate。 He did so just as Hong Kong was undergoing a transformation from a British trading post into a beating heart of capitalism and the entry point into China， which was then closed off from the world。
89岁的李嘉诚因商业头脑精明而被称为“超人”，他将塑料花作坊做大成为涉足广泛的庞大商业集团。在香港从英国的贸易口岸转型为资本主义的泵血心脏和进入中国的跳板这一过程中，他获得了成功。当时中国内地还对外封闭。
But as China grew， Hong Kong tycoons like Mr。 Li faded in importance and a new generation of mainland Chinese businesses sprang up。 Today， the region’s richest people areChinese internet titansand property moguls， whileHong Kongover the years has felt the growing influence of mainland money。
但随着中国的发展，李嘉诚等香港大佬影响力下降，新一代中国内地商人阶层崛起。今天，最富裕的人是中国的互联网大佬和地产大亨，过去一些年中，香港日益受到内地资本影响。
“It has now been nearly 78 years since， as a 12-year-old， I escaped from a war to try to find work in Hong Kong so that I could provide for my family，” Mr。 Li said in a filing Friday that announced his retirement， referring to his escape from war-torn China in 1940。
“到现在差不多七十八年了，当时我12岁，逃避战乱来到香港谋生养家，”李嘉诚在周五的退休声明中说，1940年他从内地避乱逃出。
He said that he planned to focus on his charity，the Li Ka Shing Foundation。
他说计划未来专心搞慈善，做好李嘉诚基金。
Mr。 Li will hand over his conglomerate， which includes CK Hutchison and CK Asset Holdings， to his son Victor Li， but will remain a senior adviser。 Mr。 Li’s retirement will take effect after CK Hutchison’s annual meeting in May， the filing said。
李嘉诚将包括长江和记和长江实业在内的企业集团交给儿子李泽钜，自己仍然是高级顾问。文件显示，李嘉诚将在5月长江和记年会时退休。
Mr。 Li started his plastics company at the age of 22， quickly turning it into a conglomerate that today cuts across the media， hotels， shipping， grocery stores and oil and reaches 50 countries。
李嘉诚22岁时开办了塑料公司，很快发展成企业集团，如今涉足媒体、酒店、航运、零售和石油，生意遍布五十多个国家。
He once said that each time he entered a new industry， he would buy books about it to educate himself。 When he started his plastics company， he bought a copy of an American trade magazine， Modern Plastics， each month。 “There was so much information in it，” he said in a recent Bloomberg Television interview。
他曾说，每次进入一个新行业，都会买书自学。开塑料厂时，他每月购买美国贸易杂志《现代塑料》。“里面有很多东西，”他最近接受彭博电视台采访时说。
He went into real estate in the 1960s and ’70s， eventually owning more Hong Kong property than any other entity but the British government。 Mr。 Li owns some of the most iconic — and expensive — buildings in the city， which together are worth billions of dollars。
他上世纪六七十年代进军地产，最终比除港英政府外的任何实体拥有的香港地产都多。李嘉诚拥有一些最具象征性、也最为昂贵的城市建筑，价值数十亿美元。
But it was his acquisition in 1979 of an old British trading house， Hutchison， that really elevated Mr。 Li。 He bought a controlling stake in the business from HSBC， which had bailed out the company as it struggled under large debt。 It was the first time a Chinese person had taken over a British company， and it marked an important moment in Hong Kong’s changing power structures。
但1979年兼并老牌英国商行和记真正让李嘉诚出头。他从汇丰银行购买了控制性股权，当时和记担负巨债，李嘉诚出资帮助它摆脱困境。这是中国人第一次接受英国公司，也是香港权力结构转变的重要时刻。
It is nearly impossible to live in Hong Kong today without buying something from one of Mr。 Li’s grocery stores or pharmacies， renting one of his apartments， or using electricity from his conglomerate’s utility company。
要是不从李嘉诚的便利店或药店买东西、租他的公寓或用他集团下属市政公司的电，你几乎不可能在香港生活。
Most of Mr。 Li’s assets are tied up in CK Hutchison and Cheung Kong Properties。 The name Cheung Kong is Cantonese for the Yangtze River.Over the years， Mr。 Li has made money navigating both China and the outside world。 He was one of the first Hong Kong tycoons to plow money into China。
李嘉诚多数资产在长江和记和长江实业地产下。这些年来，李嘉诚在中国和全世界各处赚钱。他是第一批投资中国内地的香港大亨。
When Mr。 Li sold some of his assets in China in 2015， People’s Daily， accused him of “immoral misconduct” and called the move “particularly brazen。”
他2015年出售部分中国资产时，有媒体指责他“不道德”，认为这种行为尤其无所顾忌。
With a net worth estimated at about $36 billion， built in part off rapidly rising property prices， Mr。 Li has also become a symbol of Hong Kong’s wealth disparity。 At times he has been a lightning rod for criticism aboutrising property prices。
他净资产超过350亿美元，部分原因是房产价格快速上涨，李嘉诚也是香港贫富不公的象征。他有时会成为人们批评房价上涨的靶子。
Mr。 Li’s announcement was timed to an annual news conference providing updates on his conglomerate’s financial status。 Over the years， the event has becomean open session for gauging the tycoon’s viewson everything from rising real estate prices to the business landscape。
李嘉诚宣布退休正值集团公布年度财报。这些年来，这个场合成为外界观察这位大亨对所有问题看法的公开时机，包括房产价格和商业走向。
The news conference suggested that Mr。 Li is unlikely to remain too far removed from his empire。 When one reporter directed a question to Victor Li about the company’s future investments， Mr。 Li interrupted as his son was reaching for the microphone。 “I’ll answer for him，” he said。
新闻发布会表明，李嘉诚不可能完全脱离他的商业帝国。一个人问李泽钜关于公司的未来投资，李嘉诚打断儿子凑到麦克风前说：“我替他回答”。
